First GREEN Bank is proud to be a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values

In today's banking environment, where we see the CEO of the one of the largest banks in America being grilled by a US Senate committee for misdeeds, it causes bankers to question the public image of their profession. Certainly after the Great Recession, the banking industry was criticized for lax oversight and then subjected to one of the most complex and verbose regulations ever enacted, The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Signed into law by President Obama in July 2010, combined, the agencies charged with Dodd-Frank rule making have published over 22,000 pages of regulatory content pertaining to Banking and Wall Street reform since the law went into effect and still have more to finish.

Despite this herculean legislative effort, the big banks, who were to be reigned in by the rules have only gotten bigger as smaller community banks have had to struggle to compete when saddled by the rules designed for banks with Trillion dollar balance sheets. Instead of changing professions, which many great bankers I know have done in the past few years, I am proud to say we have embraced a mission to change banking.

First GREEN Bank is member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV). The GABV is a network of banking leaders from around the world committed to advancing positive change in the banking sector. Our collective goal is to change the banking system so that it is more transparent, supports economic, social and environmental sustainability, and is composed of a diverse range of banking institutions serving the real economy.

Founded in 2009, we are a growing network, with banks, banking cooperatives and credit unions, microfinance institutions and community development banks joining us from many parts of the world.

Our members have one thing in common: a shared mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development, with a focus on helping individuals fulfil their potential and build stronger communities.

Our members are deeply connected to the people and the communities they serve and are accountable for the risks they both take and create for the people who use their products and services. Our focus on inclusion puts basic banking products in service of a greater number of people, rather than highly sophisticated products in the hands of a few. We are also highly aware of the externalities produced by our banking activities by the projects and clients we finance.

The Global Alliance comprises 36 financial institutions and four strategic partners operating in countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe. Collectively we serve more than 24 million customers, hold up to $110 billion USD of combined assets under management, and we are supported by more than 42,000 co-workers.

We want to ensure that banking is a healthy and productive system of society and develop a positive, viable alternative to the current banking system. We know that only by changing finance are we able to finance change. Increasingly, people are becoming aware of the interdependence of the real economy, social cohesion and our natural eco-system, something values-based bankers have long understood, and which is at the heart of the business model. Knowing that people want to support positive change in society, we have an opportunity to demonstrate a healthy transformation of our sector, contribute to societal solutions, and become a reference point for others along the way.

At its heart, the GABV is a Chief Executive Officer network providing a unique space for collaboration for leaders who are committed to values-based banking. It also provides learning and development opportunities for senior executives, experts and banking professionals at member banks through our Communities of Practice (CofP). The GABV takes a leading role in the debate about how to build a sustainable financial future by managing joint projects among members, experts and partners to help deliver it and by advocating for change.

We have a strong belief in the value of our banking model and our recent research backs that up, showing that lending to the real economy delivers better financial returns when compared with the largest banks in the world. We have demonstrated through our focus on the real economy, our strong capital positions, and our steady financial returns that the values-based banking model provides a viable and needed alternative, adding strength to a diverse financial ecosystem.

There is another way to describe our work!

View the video. What is Banking on Values? by Ralph the Kid Banker.